Neville Granger and the Stone of Immortality
by ARadomperson
Summary: What would happen if Neville, not Harry would've been the chosen one? What if, he had to live with a muggle family, in order to survive? The inspiration was a great story by Gray Fedora "Who are they staring at me like this?" "I wish I knew." "You're the Boy Who Lived, right?" "Please, welcome our new professor of Defence against the Dark Arts, professor Remus Lupin" "I'm Neville"
1. The surprise by the door

When Ned Granger woke up this morning, next to his wife, Hayley Granger, he would've never thought of the mysterious things that would happen this day. Instead, he was happily looking at his sleeping wife. She was beautiful. Long curly hair, which was in the color of sun. Her green eyes were now closed, and she was smiling slightly, still sleeping.

"I see you're staring Ned." She said, opening her eyes ,still smiling. He smiled back at her.

"What can I say? With such beauty right next to me, it would be a sin not to stare." He replied, and they shared a laugh. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. They both looked at the clock, surprised by the doorbell.

"It's seven. It's too early for clients!" Ned said. the doorbell was still ringing. "Not to mention, it's a Saturday." His wife pointed out, while Ned put on his clothes, still half asleep, with the doorbell ringing in the background. After putting on a t-shirt, and a pair of shorts, he started making his way towards the door, yelling, "Coming, coming!" When he reached the door, and looked through the glass his door had, he couldn't see a living thing. Slowly, he opened the door and much to his surprise, saw a basket with a toddler in it. It was a boy. He had black eyes, black hair, and a weird, lightning-like scar on his forehead. On the basket was a letter. Ned took it, opened it, and read it, still standing outside. When he finished, he looked at the basket. Neville, the boy inside, was looking at him. Pity took over Ned. He might not have trusted what this whole 'Albus' guy wrote, but the story of Neville's parents being dead was quite probable, if one ignored the way they were killed, not to mention, sad. He went inside of the house, the basket in his arms.

"Who is it?" Hayley asked dryly, walking in, Hermione, a toddler of their own in her arms.

"Neville. His parents were killed. Some guy named Albus wants us to take care of him." He explained.

"We should call the police."

"Bur Hayley-" "We call the police **NOW**." When he looked into his wife's eyes, he couldn't say no.

"Fine. But if they won't find anyone, we take care of him. Deal?" He asked, extending his hand.

"Deal." She said, shaking his hand.

When the police arrived, the entire day passed of what the police called "standard operating procedure". Ned thought it was stupid. He knew his neighbors, so he wasn't surprised that no one answered positively to "Is Neville a son of yours?"

Then came the child protection specialists, three men and a woman who stood in his kitchen over the boy and argued over the most convenient thing to do with him. Although it seemed that they were more interested in what was better for themselves than for Neville. So, he proposed that Hayley and himself would take care of Neville. So, by the end of the day, they were resisted as his foster parents. This done, they put him into Hermione's crib. It was amazing how the two of them, after only a day spent together, could curl up, and sleep in the same crib. When seven pm, arrived, Ned along with Hayley started watching the news. He was surprised about owls flying everywhere, 'foreigners' having a weird party, going everywhere with weird robes, and a meteor shower. He was surprised they mentioned Hayley and himself, as the 'heroes of children'.

"Whoa, this better be the last time we accept a child like this." Hayley said.

"Why?" "We're the 'heroes of children.' Do you imagine how many children will come to us? I don't want something the incident to happen again." She whispered the last part, looking at the floor, tears forming in her eyes ready to fall. Ned seeing this, put Hayley on his lap.

"It will never happen again. I promise." He whispered rubbing her back.

They didn't know, that a cat, which was standing at their window for the whole day, turned around, and started walking away, a smile on its face.

"This family is good for him." The cat whispered to itself.


	2. An unusual day

It seemed that what occurred at 54 Belgrove Street ten years earlier didn't change a lot of things. Of course, The Grangers had now two children, and had a bigger house, but everything else was peaceful. Well, almost. This is what occurred the day before the summer vacations started. Neville and Hermione were alone in the house, since Ned and Hayley had to go for an emergency case at the hospital they worked in.

"Hey Heeeeeeeeeeermione." Neville yawned as he stumbled to the kitchen.

"Hey Neville." Hermione said, reading yet another book. She was spending hours daily doing just that.

"What are you reading?" He asked, while pouring himself milk into his cereal.

" 'The Three Musketeers' " She replied.

"But Hermione! You've read it a hundred times already!" No matter what he did, Neville's voice betrayed his nervousness.

"Maybe. But this book is simply amazing." Her reply didn't cheer him up. Not one bit.

When they finished eating, they fast cleaned up and went out, heading towards their school. With each step, Neville's expression became tenser and Hermione tried her best to cheer him up, with little effect.

"Come on Neville. Only one more day!" He looked at her.

"Yes, and then another year of this torture."

"Maybe this means you have to stand up for yourself. This would help, wouldn't it?" She told him, but he looked down again.

"I'll try." There was a hint of anger in his voice as he said the words.

"Well… you did help out that other boy once, that's something. What was his name again…?"

"Adrian? Yeah, but back then, they didn't have all the students on their side. Not to mention, Adrian would rather die than talk to me."

"Than he misses out on a great friend." He looked up, and smiled faintly when he realised that she had a smile on her face.

"Thanks Hermione."

"You're welcome, Neville."

Together, confident, they went into their school. Everything went fine, Neville wasn't bothered and so far hi day was good. That is, it was fine until the lunch break.

"Hey look. It's Neville. The one without friends."

"Yeah. No wonder. He's so fat… and ugly."

"You saw that scar? I can bet all my money that it wasn't a cat. He is probably some sort of crazy psychopath."

Neville was used to this kind of things, these mattered none to him. What he couldn't stand was when somebody made fun of Hermione. He made sure to beat up anyone who would try to harm her.

Suddenly, he heard two girls whispering.

"Yeah, she was crying in the girl's toilet-"

"I heard that she smacked him before-"

"Poor guy, although then again, he WANTED to go out with that Granger-"

"You mean Hermione dumped him?"

"Yup. She's probably still crying on the girl's toilet now-"

This was enough for Neville. Quickly, he turned around, and started walking towards the toilets, ready to speak with his sister, when he ran into _them_.

Dudley and his group: the people who made his life a living Hell.

"Oh look! It's Neville the baby!" Dudley yelled, and his group laughed.

"Let me pass." Neville said, trying to get away, but they blocked all the passage.

"What's all the hurry? We didn't even say hello to each other yet." Dudley's voice was so sweet you could see sugar dropping from it. Neville's anger rose along with his anxiety. Was Hermione all right? What happened to her?

"Let me pass, before I hurt you." He said, looking at Dudley threateningly. They locked eyes for a moment, before Dudley burst out laughing, his friends as well. Neville clenched his fists, his anger rose wit every second.

"What do you want to do? Tell a teacher? Or maybe-" Dudley didn't finish his sentence, when suddenly, his features changed. In a matter of moments, he became a pink pig. A gigantic, walking pig. Screams filled the hall. Teachers ran in, and saw Neville, and Dudley's friends looking at the gigantic pig. Suddenly, there was a sound like someone just used a shotgun. Everybody, save for the pig, fell on the floor, covering their heads, but no more sounds of these kinds were heard. Instead, someone entered the building, and soon, the hall was full of students, teachers, pig, and some weird people in bizarre robes. Two of them stayed with the pig, and the others let the children and teachers into classrooms. All except for Neville. When the men came in, Dudley's friends started shouting.

"Neville did this!"

"It's all his fault!" They would point at Neville, while shouting all of this. A man with the robes came closer to him. He had messy black hair, glasses, and hazel eyes. Neville took a few steps back from him, before colliding with the wall. It hurt him. He looked around, but he was only with that man, and two others who took care of the pig. He started trembling, and tried to explain everything.

"I…It wasn't me sir, I swear, I wanted to see my sister, and-" the man shushed him, and started saying in a calm, soothing voice.

"Don't worry Neville. My name is James. James Potter. Those people and I," he said gesturing to the other two then himself, "are wizards." Neville looked at him, jaw wide open, and eyes popping out.

"You really are? Or are you just making a stupid joke?" He asked. James laughed slightly, and shook his head.

"No. This isn't the end though. You are a wizard too. Your sister _and _you." Neville's eyes squint in a glare.

"You're lying." He stated, crossing his arms. James stopped smiling.

"I'm not. I'm sure when you two will come back home, there will be two letters for you." He said.

"And you came here just to tell me this?" He asked doubtfully. James shook his head.

"No," He said looking slightly sad, "I came here to erase your memory" When Neville heard those words; he clenched his hands into fists, and took them up, in between James and himself.

"Just try. I can hurt you." He said, trying to look dangerous. James sighed and shook his head before taking out what looked like a long stick. Neville watched it carefully. After being bullied from the first day of school, he knew that he had to watch all the moves of his enemy. Before he could do anything though, he felt a numb pain in his head. He tried to move, but couldn't he started closing his eyes, and the last thing that he saw was James saying something, and the end of the stick becoming silver.


	3. Moody

**Ok, this is my last chapter before the school starts, so the chapters will take more time to be written. Sorry.**

"Neville! Neville!" Somebody was shaking him. He recognized this voice. Slowly, he sat up, blinking.

"Wha? What happened?" He asked, looking at the person, who was looking at him, a worried expression on her face.

"Apparently, Dudley punched you so hard, that you blacked out." Hermione's voice was like a bottle of cold water. It woke him up immediately.

"Hermione! You're all right! What happened? I heard that you broke up with somebody and that you cried in the girls toilet…" She looked at him, a sad smile on her face.

"Neville. You know me. I always tell you my secrets. Did I ever tell you that I was going out with somebody?" He froze. It was true. He felt his cheeks burning from the embarrassment, and heard Hermione scoff.

"You can be so stupid when you want to be." Although the words were quite offensive, he knew it was a way of Hermione's to show affection. He felt better seeing that she was all right.

Since he was injured, he was sent home just after the school nurse made sure he wouldn't lose consciousness once he stood up. When he was walking past the front door, he overheard Dudley trying to explain something to the principal.

"I swear, I didn't mean to-"

"I don't care. The boy could've been seriously hurt! I'm writing a letter to your parents, I _will_ speak to them this time. Come to my office. NOW." Dudley started walking in the direction of her office. When he saw Neville grinning at him from the street, he frowned, and mouthed something that looked like "Just wait. Next time no teacher will help you." Neville's smile faded away, as he started walking down the street. Even though today he was lucky, Dudley still had another full year, and another, and another…. And when he'd finally get rid of Dudley, someone else would surely arrive and harass him. This was the reason why he never fought back. He knew there was no use in doing so.

Fortunately for him, his school was only a few blocks away from 54 Belgrove Street. Once he arrived there, he took out his keys, and saw the mail almost full. He opened it, and took the letters. He opened the front door, and went straight to the kitchen, while reading to whom the letters were addressed.

"Mom, Dad, Dad, Mom, Hermione…Me?" He asked himself, stopping, next to the table. He sat on a chair, and left the other letters next to him, before opening his own. There, with a fancy handwriting was written:

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc. Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mug ump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Mr. Granger,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at_

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If you will accept, a representative of Hogwarts will accompany you on the date of your choosing to acquire your supplies._

_Term begins on 1 September. We await your response by no later than 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress_

He re-read the letter a few times, and finally, after he finished it for the last time, he stayed sitting, staring at it, not believing what he was seeing. He took the envelope and examined it. There was a weird seal on it, half ripped now, which represented some sort of a shield divided into four parts. On the first part was a lion, on the second one, a snake, on the third one was a badger, and lastly, on the fourth one, was an eagle. Underneath, Neville could barley read.

_Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titlandus_

"Never tickle a sleeping dragon." He muttered under his breath. What does it mean? Dragons exist? He turned to the other side, and much to his horror, read.

_To Mr. Neville Granger_

_Room at the South, 54 Belgrove Street_

_London, England_

How did they know that his bedroom was on the South side of the house? Was he followed around? He had a stalker? What kind of a joke was that? It was probably another Dudley's trick… suddenly, an idea came into his mind. He started looking through the letters.

"Where is it? Dammit…. Ah, found it!" He yelled, putting up his hand, with Hermione's letter in it. He looked at it, and felt himself becoming pale. It had the same seal. He turned it around.

_To Miss. Hermione Granger_

_Room at the West, 54 Belgrove Street_

_London, England_

This was too much. How much did they know? Neville was about to open this letter, when a thought came into his mind. Slowly, he put the letter next the others. He was ashamed. Hermione and him were good friends. How would he feel if somebody opened his letter? He stood up, and started to go around the table in circles. What did it mean? Was he really a wizard? How was that possible? Ever since they were little, Hermione and Neville were taught not to believe in magic. Ned and Hayley made sure for those two to understand that these things didn't exist, no matter what told the stories. They wanted them to know that many bad things happened in life, but a fortuneteller or a psychic wasn't going to help them. The sound of the door opening interrupted Neville's thoughts. He came out of the kitchen, into the hall, and saw Hermione closing the door. When she turned around, he saw that she was crying. He hurried towards her.

"Hermione? Are you alright?" She didn't look at him.

"I'm fine. I collided with a door. Its nothing." He didn't have to look in her eyes to know she was lying.

"Why don't you tell me the truth?" He asked, following her into the kitchen.

"Because if I would you'd get into trouble. Not to mention," She turned around looking at him with a glint of Hayley in her eyes, "You are still weakened by your black out." Neville groaned.

"Come on Hermione!" He whined, as she took out orange juice.

"No. Now, stop whining. It'll get you nowhere." Neville did like she said. He knew that Hermione never joked about those kind of stuff. Instead, he sat at the chair opposite of hers, looking at her, as she winced, trying to drink her juice, without touching her face.

"There's a letter for you." He said, acting like he doesn't care about it. Hermione looked at him, and started to search for it under all the other letters. Finally, she found it, opened it, and read out loud.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc. Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mug ump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Miss. Granger,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If you will accept, a representative of Hogwarts will accompany you on the date of your choosing to acquire your supplies.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your response by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress" She looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"You had a letter like this as well?" He nodded. She looked at it curiously.

"I don't recognize this writing. Do you?" He shook his head. She stood up, and started to go around the table, excitement clear on her face.

"This is so great Neville! We're magical!" She said, looking at him, smiling brightly. He stood up as well.

"I don't think so. It's more likely Dudley. He could blackmail somebody to write this for us. Besides, seriously, look at the back of your envelope. They know the locations of out bedrooms! BEDROOMS Hermione!" He yelled, throwing his hands in the air from frustration. She glared at him.

"Why are you such a pessimist all of the sudden?" She asked.

"I don't know. Maybe because for my whole life I was bullied by him?" He answered, not bothering to stop yelling. Hermione looked around the room, expecting someone to enter, and punish them for yelling at each other.

"Come on Neville, stop yelling. We don't want our parents to be in trouble."

"They aren't even my real parents!"

"True. But you don't want them to get in trouble, do you?" She asked him, and he shook his head after a moment of silence. Yes Neville knew he was adopted. Ned and Hayley treaded him like Hermione, they didn't tell him he was adopted. Hermione found out herself, and left some clues to Neville. She always wanted him to know everything that she knew. So, he found out about it, and truth to be told, he was quite happy with the Grangers. Sure sometimes he wished he knew his real parents, but it seemed that the Grangers were always there for him. No, he wouldn't want to hurt them in any way.

"Sorry. Still, I don't believe in this, and neither would parents. You know them. They don't believe in magic, which is, totally understandable."

"True. Maybe we should write to this Minerva, to send one of them to our house, so he\she can show the magic-" Neville cur her off.

"Seriously Hermione? You believe in magic? You HATE fantasy books and movies!"

"Well yes, it's just that…. it could be the reason of the so many weird things happening to us. You remember when one day Dudley's hair changed to violet? Everybody thought it was a joke, but it wasn't!" That was true. Neville thought about it. Maybe it wasn't a prank? Hermione was almost always right.

"Besides, I don't think Dudley could come up with something like this. You know him. He's the stupidest guy in the whole damn world." Neville smirked at this. It was true. Once, Dudley put on a white dress and wanted to make Neville think he was a ghost. Maybe Neville hadn't been the most intelligent of all, but he knew that even if ghosts existed, and they didn't, they wouldn't have looked like obese guys in their mothers' white nightshirts.

"True…" He trailed off. Hermione looked at him, in a 'I-told-you' manner, and Neville rolled his eyes playfully.

"I think it will be more appropriate if only one of us writes the request. We want to know the truth and if it's real I wouldn't want to seem desperate, while if it's a prank… I don't want somebody to believe we fell for this. Let's just say we're looking for proof…" Neville nodded, not listening to her. He was thinking about all the opportunities to get back at Dudley when he'd know some spells… He smiled at the thought of Dudley trying to get away from bees. The thought of Dudley actually running made him snicker. Hermione looked at him.

"Why are you laughing at?" She asked him, coming near him.

"Oh, just imagine, I could get revenge on Dudley, and no one would know it was me-" Suddenly, a gunshot was heard. Neville pushed Hermione to the ground, covering her with his own body.

"Are you alright?" He whispered, looking at her, fear in his eyes. She nodded almost invisibly. He sighed, before standing up, and helping her. They heard knocking on the door. Slowly, trying not to make a sound, they came to the door, and looked out of a glass that the door contained. They saw a strange man. His face was full of scratches, and, he had weird eyes. One of them, seemed normal. Brown, little. The second one was in an eye-patch and was intensively blue. It seemed that it could see through the door, since, he walked near it, and whispered loudly, so that they could hear him.

"You better get away from the door. Both of you." Neville glanced at Hermione. She nodded, and slowly they crept away. Suddenly, the door opened, and that man came in. Neville could see that he was limping on one leg. When the first shock flew away, Neville clenched his fists and ran towards him with a yell.

"GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE!" He screamed, jumping on the man, but something sent him flying backwards. Hermione gasped, and ran towards him, helping him up. They both looked at the man, who crossed his arms looking at them.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Hermione inquired, still helping Neville, looking at him. The man coughed.

"I'm Alastor Moody. I am a wizard just like you. I was sent here, because you'll need somebody to help you buy your supplies to Hogwarts." He said. His voice was deep, and raspy. Hermione and Neville glanced at each other.

"Mr. Moody-" Hermione started.

"Our parents don't know that we are wizards. We are waiting for them." Neville finished.

"Unfortunately, I don't think we could go to Hogwarts. Our parents don't believe in magic." Hermione said, looking at him. He rolled both his eyes.

"Muggles." He muttered under his breath. Neville glared at him.

"How did you call them? This better not be an insult because I would have to punch you-" Hermione stopped him, taking him by his shoulder.

"No Neville, don't do it. You're tired already! Besides, he's a wizard! He can kill you!" She whispered. Moody chuckled darkly.

"Oh, but 'muggle' isn't an insult. This is how we call the non-magical people. You boy," He said pointing at Neville, "Are really brave or really stupid. Dueling a wizard before you earn the basic spells? Are you mad?" He asked. Neville was about to answer, when they heard the noise of a car. Neville looked at Hermione, who glanced at him. They both looked at Moody.

"Hide! Don't show yourself to our parents before we explain everything to them!" Hermione yelled. Moody shook his head.

Ned walked in, Hayley by his side. They looked at the hall, and they stopped smiling when they saw Neville and Hermione, standing with an unknown man.

"Neville? Hermione? What's going on? Who's our guest?" Ned asked. Looking from them to the man. Neville tried to say something, but failed to.

"You…you have to read those first." Hermione said, giving them the letters from Hogwarts. When Ned and Hayley finished. They looked at their children and then at the man.

"What kind of joke is it?" Hayley asked. Letting the letters fall on the ground.

"It is not a joke Mrs. Granger. I am a wizard and so are your children." Moody said. Ned looked at him, unimpressed.

"Yeah right. And I'm the prince of China." He said.

"We have no proof of magic." Hayley added. Moody smirked, took out a long stick, and made some circular moves with it. Much to Mr. and Mrs. Grangers horror, their teapot, five teacups, sugar basin and five teaspoons flew in the air, and stopped inches from their faces.

"Let's go to the living room." The teapot proposed. Hayley looked at it and her body went limp. She fainted. Ned caught her. He was pale, but after a few deep breaths, he calmed down enough to go to the living room, along with Moody and the children. Moody came closer to Hayley's body, and muttered something under his breath. Hayley opened her eyes, and, with Ned's help, managed to sit down.

"So now that you know that magic exists, are you willing to send your children to Hogwarts?" Moody asked, without bothering to hide the reason of his presence. Ned looked at Hayley.

"Um… Can we speak in private? We need to discus it-" Before Ned finished, Neville, Hermione and Moody stood up and left the room. When Moody closed the door from behind him, Hermione bombarded him with questions.

"What do you do for living?" She asked.

"I'm an auror." He replied, not bothering to look at her. She furrowed her eyebrows.

"What is an auror?" She asked.

"A wizard who catches wizards who are dangerous." He replied, looking out of a window.

"It's like police, right?" Hermione inquired. Neville didn't listen to them. He thought about being a wizard. What if their parents wouldn't agree? What would happen then? Would they talk his powers away? But now that he knew about all of this… Would they erase his memory? What if something would go wrong? Wouldn't he remember anything, or would they just kill him so he was no threat to them? He felt somebody shake him. He looked up, and saw the eyes of Moody.

"Yes sir?" He asked.

"Your turn to go and talk with them." Moody replied. Neville was surprised, but went to the living room, and sat in front of his parents.

"Neville, listen. Do you want to go to this whole Hogwarts?" His father asked, and Neville nodded.

"Are you sure?" Hayley asked. Neville nodded.

"Yes. I'd love to do magic. Like this, I wouldn't have to learn the martial arts right? I would just use the magic. You know how I hate fighting." Hayley and Ned nodded.

"Not to mention, maybe I'll find a hobby. Maybe there will be something I'll be finally good at. " He added. He saw that it led to a good thing, since Ned started nodding again... although maybe it was just his reflex. After a few more questions, they let go of him. Finally, when another hour or so passed, at least it felt that long to Neville, they came out of the living room.

"Your mother and I decided that-" Ned started.

"You can go to Hogwarts." Hayley finished. Hermione and Neville started shouting from the joy. Moody, Mr. and Mrs. Granger started to debate on the date of going to the so-called "Diagon Alley." Before Moody left, he looked at Neville and Hermione.

"See you the 12th of July and remember, constant vigilance." He told them, before disappearing with a shotgun-like sound into the night, leaving them speechless.


	4. Diagon Alley

Finally, the 12th of July has arrived. The whole house was buzzing with life. They all woke up extrememly early, so they kept on bumping into each other, still in pyjamas, with tosts in mouth, cremes all over their faces... finally, the Grangers met in the living room, woken up. Of course, they couldn't prepare themselves. Harley couldn't make up her mind about the clothes, Ned couldn't find his glasses, Hermione tried, and kept on failing, to brush her hair, while Neville just tried to clean his room, and believe me, the task wasn't easy. Between the science-fiction books, his school stuff and his computer, Neville had a hard time finding the right places for everything. The shotgun like sound was heard on Belgrove Street. The Grangers could recognize it, so they all rushed downstairs, Neville and Hermione had their letters in hands. The doorbell rang. When Ned opened, Alastor came in. He wore a simple cloak, and a hat that covered his magical eye. He grunted something that could betaken from 'Hello' to 'We're being followed' to 'Pizza is delicious.' The Grangers just nodded, and together, they went out. After changing the metros a few times, they finally came near a bar. They went inside, and even Harley had to admit, that it looked nice. A man behind the bar glanced at them, and smiled when he saw Moody.

"Alastor! My old friend! I see you've got company." Moody nodded, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Hey Tom. Those are the Grangers. The younglings are wizards." It was Toms' timeto nod understandingly.

"I see another muggle-borns?" Moody simply nodded.

"Well, you know the way." With that, the barman, Tom went back to polishing the glasses, although...it wasn't Tom. The glasses polished themselves. Neville could stare at them for the whole day, but Ned grabbed his arm, even though he was as astonished as Neville was. They found Harley and Hermione with Moody outside. Moody was taping with his wand on a brick wall. Before anyone could ask him what was he doing, the bricks started to move in different directions, and the wall opened the Grangers' eyes, a city popped out of nowhere. There were many shops, crowds, crowds everywhere.

"Welcome to the Diagon Alley." Moody told them, as they stared in awe. They walked through the crowd, and in no time, almost everything from their lists were bought.

"Now, an animal? Why do we need animals? Will we have to cut them in Herbology?" Asked Hermione, looking up from her list. Moody looked so surprised he almost put a shop on fire.

"What?" He asked.

"Well, in the muggle world-"

"Hey, kid there's something you didn't understand. Now, you don't really fit into the muggle world. I mean, you still have your muggle parents and friends and all, but you are a wizard. We, wizards don't cut our animals of company." He explained.

"Wait, so we're buying ourselves an animal of company?" Neville finally started to understand. Alastor nodded. On the way to the shop with the animals, Neville and Hermione bumped into two strangers, making all four of them fall on the ground. Neville stood up, and saw the girl he bumped into. She had long blond hair, and grey eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm so clumsy." He apologized, offering her his hand to help her stand up.

"Oh, don't worry. A narwhal was talking to me. If it wasn't for it, I would hear you. My name is Luna. And what's yours?"

"Narwhals talk to you? But aren't they like, sea creatures?" Neville asked, completely dumbfounded. Luna laughed.

"No, they are creatures that live in your brain. They are invisible to a human eye, but they can see themselves." Neville comptented on that.

"Alright. My name is Neville." They smiled at each other. Suddenly, Nevilee heard a familiar turned around, and helped Hermione up, while a guy with red hair was just regaining balance.

"Whoa.. what happened?"

"You ran into him."

"'Him' has a name." The red-headed guy said,a bit annoyed, "And it'd Ron."

"Fine. You and Ron ran into each other."

"Sorry about it." Ron apologized, scratching behind his head, embarrassed. A guy around their age with messy black hair, green eyes and glasses came running.

"Ron, mate, you alright?" Ron nodded.

"Yeah Harry. Just ran into her." He said, showing Hermione. Harry smiled.

"Hi. My name's Harry. And yours?"

"Hermione. This is my brother, Neville, and this is...?" "Luna." They all shook hands.

"First year at Hogwarts, huh? Which house do you want to be in?" Asked Harry excitedly. Neville and Hermione exchanged nervous glances.

"I'd love to be in Griffindor." Ron nodded in agreement.

"I think...Reveclaw or Griffindor."Luna said.

"Wait, whet are you guys talking about?" Asked Neville.

"What? Don't you know that... ah, let me guess, you're a muggle born?" Asked Harry. The Grangers' kids nodded.

"Well, in Hogwarts, we have four houses, in which you get chosen. In Ravenclaw, go only intelligent people." "In Hufflepuff you have to behard working and loyal."

"Griffindor is for those who are brave." "And then, there is Slytherin. Most of bad guys go there. Like, apparently it's only for pure bloods, and for those who are ambitious."

"Whoa, whois He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named?" Neville asked. The trio exchanged nervous glances.

"It's am wizrard who... well, wanted to get rid of all the muggles, muggle-borns and half-bloods. He was making everyone live in a life full of fear. Then, ten years ago, he vanished. He killed a wizard family, and then, he just...vanished. We don't know where he is, nor anything else about what he's -" "Ron!" A girl about their age ran to him, and started to slap him repeatedly.

"Don' . . ! Do you know how mum and dad are worrying?"

Ron finally took her hands away from him.

"Ginny, stop it. I was just trying to find you!" "By talking? Gee, what a great idea!" They glared at each other, but Harry went in between.

"Ron, Ginny, stop it." He said.

"Oh, Harry, your parents are looking for you as well." No slapping.

"Cool...hey, Ginny could you tell them to come here?"

"Why don't you do it, Ronnie?" "Stop calling me that!"

"Whatever you say." With that, the Ginny girl went away, probably to tell her family she found Ron and Harry. Ron was now red like a tomato.

"I hate her." He muttered under his breath, and started to say louder.

"So, you met my little sister Ginny. She's a big pain." "I don't think so."

"Well, Luna, you don't live with her." Luna shrugged.

"True."

"Neville, Hermione, look what we've bought you!" Ned and Hayley were smiling, two cages in their hands. In each was an owl. One was black, while the second, a bit brownish, orangish. Neville ran to the black one,while Hermione got the second one.

"Whoa! This is so awesome!" They turned around to their friends, and saw that they all left.

"Well, that was a good start."

During the way home, people gave funny looks to the Grangers and Moody. For the whole journey Moody kept on muttering about 'stupid muggles. Killing their own pets.'.

Finally, they returned to Belgrove Street. The Grangers thanked Moody, who gave him the same goodbye he said last time.

Finally, Neville and Blinky, his owl went to his room. Neville took out his wand. It was 11 inches long, made of holly, and had a phoenix feather core. It was nice and supple. Neville's mind was far away from his wand and room. He thought about Harry, Ron and Luna. Also, he remembered what they said about Slytherin. "Well, it seems that we will have problems with prejudiced people." He muttered to himself, before unpacking his things for Hogwart, and packing them in an enormous trunk. He was almost done, when Hermione entered into his room. "Neville? Won't you read your books? You know, to be at least a little prepared?"

"No, I don't want to." "But it's really interesting!" "Yeah, I'm sure it is. Is this why you came here?"

"Not really. I wanted to ask you...where do you think I could belong?" "Well, you're talking about the houses, right?" She nodded. "You are hard working, loyal... but you're also very clever... I think you could fit into the Ravenclaw house." She smiled.

"And you, Neville, you are a true Griffindor." She hugged him, and he smiled as he hugged her back.


	5. A ride full of surprises

"Neville, wake up! We need to get you and Hermione to King's Cross!" Ned bellowed, marching into his son's room. Neville stood up immediately, yawning.

"I'm ready." Ned laughed, and ruffled his hair.

"You better dress up. Or do you want everybody to see your pyjamas?" Neville blushed, embarrassed, while Ned walked away, closing the door behind him.

When everyone was ready, Ned took them to their car, and went to the King's Cross Station. Once they arrived, the children looked at their tickets.

"Dad..." Started Hermione, observing her ticket carefully, "I think there was a problem... The ticket says to go to the platform nine and three quarters, but it doesn't exist...does it?"

"Show it to me." When Ned saw that Hermione wasn't joking, and that Neville had exactly the same ticket, his expression changed to surprised. He looked around, and saw a man and a boy, around his children's age. they had a trunk and a cage with an owl. He came near them.

"Excuse me sir, do you know where the platform nine and three quaters is?" The man's smile was wiped off, as he looked disgusted at Ned, Neville and Hermione.

"Ugh, muggle-borns. Come on Draco, remember, do not talk to those two at Hogwarts." He turned around, and the boy, Draco, followed him. When his father wasn't looking, Draco turned around, and with his hand made a movement for Grangers to follow him and his father.

Ned, all red from anger and embarrassment, murmuring some things about Draco's father, along with his children followed. Much to their surprise, they saw the man and Draco walk through the wall on the platform nine. They just walked through it, and disappeared.

"Wait, dad." Before Neville could pass by the magical wall, Hermione, stopped him, "I don't think you should pass by this wall.

"What wall? Why would you pass a wall?" Ned asked, completely surprised. Hermione sighed.

"This is exactly my point. The wall through which we should pass is magical. I don't think you or mum could walk through it. I don't want anything bad to happen to you." Ned and Neville both stared at her, at loss of words.

"Whoa, Hermione, you're a freaking genius!" Neville exclaimed. Ned nodded, and, they said their goodbyes. Neville looked at Hermione.

"Together?" He asked, holding out his hand.

"Together." Hermione confirmed, taking his hand into hers.

Together, they crossed the wall. On the other side, stood an impressive train. Neville and Hermione found themselves a nice compartment, that wasn't crowded.

After what seemed like forever, the train finally started to go.

The compartment's door opened, and Harry came in.

"Hey, Neville, Hermione, don't you mind if Ron, Ginny, Luna and I come in as well?" The siblings shook their heads, and made more space for the newcomers.

"So... are you four best friends or something?" Asked Hermione.

"Yeah. Ginny and Ron are sibling. Harry and Ron are best friends, and I'm best friends with Ginny, so their parents offered taking Harry and me to King's Cross." Luna explained.

"Hey, since all of you are wizards and stuff... do you know a wizard called Draco?"Neville's question seemed to darkener everybody's mood, except for himself, Hermione and Luna.

"So, I see you met the Malfoys?" Asked Ron.

"Malfoys?"

"A pureblood wizard family. They are one of the most prejudiced family. During the times of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, Lucius Malfoy was one of his most active followers. Of course, when he disappeared, Lucius blamed all on the imperio curse, but dad knows he's lying." Ginny explained, glaring out of the window.

"Imperio?" Asked Hermione.

"When someone hits you with the imperio curse, you do what they tell you to do. Only some of the strongest wizards can oppose this curse. Dumbledore can. I know it." Ron explained.

"Who's Dumbledore?" Asked Neville.

"Our Headmaster. He was the only person He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named feared." Ron said, and in his voice was a hint of proudness. Hermione's brows furrowed.

"But this Draco guy helped us to get to the train, he can't be that bad." Her words seemed to surprise everyone.

"He helped you?" Exclaimed Ginny, turning towards Hermione.

"Yeah, he did." Neville added, and Ron looked at him, utterly confused.

"Well, I never thought about him… I thought he would be like his father…" Harry trailed off.

"You know, you shouldn't judge a person by their looks\ what you know about their family, " Started Luna, before anyone could object, she continued, "People call me Loony Luna, because, my family and I are a little… different from any other families. Besides," she turned to Ron and Ginny, "You two know that feeling too. I've heard about what Lucius says about your family. How you are traitors, because you've got nothing against muggles, and whatever else he said." Ron and Ginny blushed so hard that their faces were almost redder from their hair.

"I know we shouldn't, but what I wanted to say, is that since his father is like this, he would teach his son to do the same, you know? My father is ready to die for his friends, and so am I." Harry told her, Luna shrugged.

"Parents might try to teach you things, but it all depends from the person you're talking about. You listen to your father, because you know he's a good man. Draco might know his father was evil. He might not listen to him." After Luna's words, there was a silence for a few moments, when the compartment's door opened.

"Want a treat?" an elderly woman asked, a trolley next to her, full of sweets Neville and Hermione couldn't recognise.

"We have sandwiches." Ron and Ginny exclaimed, holding their up, and Luna shrugged, before taking out some of her money.

"Bertie Bott's every flavour beans and six chocolate frogs, please." She asked, holding out the money. After they exchanged, Luna smiled brightly at the rest of her friends.

"You eat frogs?" Neville asked, poking his box. Harry nodded.

"It's really good. It looks like a real frog, it moves, but it's pure chocolate."

"The best thing about it, is that you can say your favourite chocolate flavour, and the frog will have the taste of this chocolate!" Ron yelled, throwing his sandwiches to the trash.

"Also, there are cards of famous witches and wizards that you can collect. I have almost all of them, except Morgana, Griselda, and You-Know-Who. Fred and Gorge claim they have one, but you shouldn't trust these two." Ginny said. Neville laughed, before asking.

"Hey, but about the flavours…. do you have to tell the m out loud or in your head?"

"You can do both." Harry answered, before taking a bite of his.

'_Hazelnut chocolate'_ Neville thought, and tried to ignore the frog's movements as he put it in his mouth. The taste was delicious.

"This is the most delicious chocolate I've ever eaten!" He exclaimed. They all smiled, except for Hermione, who was frowning at her yet un-opened box.

"Hermione? Are you ok?" Neville asked her. She nodded, and smiled a weak smile.

"Yeah, I was just…thinking… Hey, shouldn't we change into our school robes or something?" she asked, and the rest of us groaned.

"Yeah, we probably should…come on Hermione, Luna, I will show you the girls' changing rooms. " Ginny said, as she stood up, and took her luggage from the shelf, before trying to find her robes. Finally, she, Hermione and Luna left the compartment, and Ron, along with Harry explained a game called Quidditch to Neville. His heart wasn't in conversation, Hermione's furrowed brows in his mind. _Maybe they didn't see her, but I know that she's focused on something…or someone. After the ride I'll ask her. _He promised himself.


End file.
